1. Field of the Invention
The present invention refers to a method and a machine for parallel production of similar products, by straightening and bending mechanisms. The supplied material is wire, wire rod or any other material of prismatic cross section, and it may be fed simultaneously at several production lines, where controlling and driving is common.
The products are widely used in the construction of machine parts, of various consumer products made of wire, of products made of wire rods, and of parts made of metal tubes.
2. Description of Related Art
The machines, which are available in the market, consist of one straightening and one feeding mechanism, which straighten and advance the wire respectively, and of one bending mechanism, for bending at a single plane (2-D) or at multiple planes (3-D). Each mechanism disposes its own independent motor, its own means for measuring of length or rotation angle, and its own means for transferring of motion from the motor towards each particular mechanism. Furthermore, the machine disposes a central computer for programming (planning) of the production parts and for controlling of the various mechanisms' motion.
Any competitors' machines exhibit the above characteristics but they differ from each other with respect to the straightening method, the advancement mechanism, and the bending mechanism.
Starting from the supplied material, each machine constructs products in a serial mode, one after the other. The need for high productivity leads to the construction of very fast machines, which operate at high speeds, and hence they have particular requirements of robustness, housing, construction material, and high-speed electronic controllers. As a direct consequence of this, the resulting machines are very complicated and particularly expensive.
As an example, the only way for doubling the production in a given production line, is by introduction of another similar machine, which disposes all the mechanisms, motors and electronics parts, which were mentioned previously. This is an expensive solution, since it requires procurement of another machine.